Bit of a public-service-announcement and food for thought:
After a review by the BCMR, my medical retirement was recharacterized as combat related. They specifically noted which disabilities fit their criteria, and the BCMR letter states:
Forwarded that to the CRSC folks as new evidence for reconsideration, and it was denied. Excerpt from the CRSC response:
Curiously the response to my original CRSC claim included a blurb that portions of medical records may not be objective documentary evidence:
Bottom line: BCMR's view (or PEB, presumably) on combat-related events does not imply that CRSC will be awarded.
After a review by the BCMR, my medical retirement was recharacterized as combat related. They specifically noted which disabilities fit their criteria, and the BCMR letter states:
New retirement orders were cut, DD214 updated, etc etc."[evidence] is sufficient to justify granting the applicant’s request to have his [conditions] be categorized as combat-related, as a direct result of instrumentality of war as defined in 26 USC 104 combat-related determination."
Forwarded that to the CRSC folks as new evidence for reconsideration, and it was denied. Excerpt from the CRSC response:
The Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR) found your [conditions] as combat-related regarding your medical retirement. However, their decision does not automatically qualify your disabilities as combat-related under the CRSC program. The CRSC program is designed to provide compensation for combat-related injuries. Consequently, our standards are much more rigorous when determining disabilities under current criteria. When making combat-related determinations for injuries, the Board looks for in-service documents from the time of the injury, confirming medical treatment was sought at the time of the injury, and confirming the injury scenario. If you have the initial in-service medical record from the time of an incident that confirms the event and the injury, you may submit for reconsideration.
Curiously the response to my original CRSC claim included a blurb that portions of medical records may not be objective documentary evidence:
Although medical documentation may confirm mental health diseases, it does not identify a specific combat related event (nexus) that attributed to the claimed disability. Medical documentation for such disabilities are often related from a patient's account (point of view) of what happened and not objective documentary evidence that the claimed combat-related stressors occurred.
Bottom line: BCMR's view (or PEB, presumably) on combat-related events does not imply that CRSC will be awarded.